Boys Cry Too The Haunted Youth

• 1 in my head 08:05
• 2 castlevania 04:03
• 3 deathwish 03:27
• 4 emo song 06:40
• 5 wake up 04:44
• 6 hurt 03:43
• 7 murder me 02:35
• 8 falling to pieces 07:24
• 9 i hear voices 06:25
• 10 forget me 03:28
• 11 ghost girl 02:48
• Total Runtime 53:22

Info for Boys Cry Too

On his second album, Joachim Liebens leaves behind the fragile, bedroom-pop innocence of his debut Dawn Of The Freak – an album that has long since achieved cult status – and embarks on a far more confrontational, emotionally charged path. From the monumental, eight-minute opener “in my head” to the haunting finale “ghost girl”, the album deliberately shatters any sense of restraint. Fragile melodies meet distortion and aggression; intimacy collides with explosive energy. “Boys Cry Too” is raw, honest and unvarnished – an album for anyone who doesn’t want to hide their emotions, but to feel them.

When Joachim Liebens emerged on the scene with his project The Haunted Youth in 2022, it all still felt somewhat haphazard and unfinished. The young man from Belgium with the wild haircut played around with his awkward charm, great musical sincerity and, ultimately, through his interaction with his musicians – who only coalesced into a solid band structure during the release of the debut album “Dawn Of The Freak” – he quickly won the hearts of music lovers whose souls were, for systemic reasons, cast in shadow – which is why they were then drawn to the nocturnal soundscapes of The Haunted Youth. Back then, it wasn’t quite clear which direction things would take: indie pop with a Cure vibe? Kaputnik psychedelia? Darkwave? Shoegaze? Dream pop? There was simply a bit of everything. The Haunted Youth present themselves quite differently on their second album, as ‘Boys Cry Too’ veers powerfully towards shoegaze with a monumental wall-of-sound quality. Several of the tracks (including the 8-minute opener “In My Head”) come across as epic, wide-screen operettas that may begin gently but usually end in orgiastic sound whirlpools in which Liebens, so to speak, screams his heart out.


But there’s another side to it: The tracks “Deathwish”, “Murder Me” and “Forget Me”, overlaid with Kleist-esque death drama, come across as crisp, three-minute rock songs, whilst the acoustic guitar-backed numbers “Wake Up” and the closing “Ghost Girl” demonstrate that Joachim Liebens is also capable of writing conciliatory musical love letters. Liebens says that during the “Freak” phase he was still a child and – due to some formative obstacles that life had thrown his way – has only now come of age, and that with “Boys Cry Too” he wanted to let the listener share in this sometimes painful process. Even a professional writer could not have put it more beautifully.

The Haunted Youth

The Haunted Youth
The Haunted Youth is the band of Joachim Liebens and the biggest Belgian indie rock sensation of the last few years. After the release of the critically acclaimed debut album Dawn of the Freak and touring almost non-stop, his sophomore album BOYS CRY TOO is set to release in February ‘26. With their debut single Teen Rebel, The Haunted Youth quickly became a dream pop phenomenon in Belgium and beyond. Their hazy indie sound and melancholic charm won hearts across Europe, the UK, and the US. Follow-up singles Coming Home, Broken, and especially Gone—named single of the year by Studio Brussels—cemented their status as one of Belgium’s hottest new bands. Frontman Joachim Liebens blends dreamy guitars, nostalgic synths, and deeply personal lyrics into songs that, while dark in theme, offer comfort and connection. Since the release of debut album Dawn of the Freak in November 2022, the band has toured relentlessly, playing to crowds from London to Madrid. 2025 marks the beginning of the next chapter in their journey, with the release of their 2nd album BOYS CRY TOO in February 2026. The first single, Emo Song, is about being ready to lose everything as long as you gain yourself in the process. The album signals a bold step forward in both sound and storytelling, pushing the band’s emotional and sonic boundaries even further. In 2026, they’ll bring this new chapter to life with a tour that includes stops in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Madrid, and Brussels.

This album contains no booklet.